Models of Sickness-Wellness-Fitness Flashcards
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Read the first 6 Models of Sickness-Wellness-Fitness flashcards as text
What is the fundamental premise of CrossFit's Sickness-Wellness-Fitness model?
Answer: Sickness, wellness, and fitness are different measurable points on a single continuum of health.
The model's core concept is that health is not a binary state (sick vs. not sick) but a continuum. Sickness is at one end, wellness is a neutral midpoint, and fitness is at the far end, representing a superior state of health.
An individual with a sedentary lifestyle has a body fat percentage of 35% and borderline high blood pressure. According to the Sickness-Wellness-Fitness continuum, improving their fitness would primarily serve what purpose?
Answer: To create a buffer or margin of protection against slipping into sickness.
The primary benefit of moving from wellness (or near-sickness) towards fitness is building a physiological reserve. This "buffer" means that a health challenge, like an illness or injury, is less likely to push the individual into a state of sickness because they are starting from a higher baseline of health.
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between health markers (e.g., blood pressure, triglyceride levels, bone density) and the Sickness-Wellness-Fitness continuum?
Answer: These markers can be measured and will consistently show improvement as an individual moves from sickness towards fitness.
A core tenet of this model is that health is measurable and evidence-based. The same quantitative markers that define sickness (e.g., high blood pressure) can be tracked as they improve through wellness and into the optimal ranges associated with fitness.
In the CrossFit Sickness-Wellness-Fitness model, "wellness" is best described as:
Answer: The state of not being sick, but having no significant reserve or buffer against sickness.
The model defines wellness as the midpoint on the continuum. It is characterized by the absence of disease and 'normal' health markers, but it lacks the robust health and capacity of fitness, leaving an individual vulnerable to being pushed into sickness.
A fit individual and a merely "well" individual both contract a serious illness. According to the Sickness-Wellness-Fitness model, what is the most likely difference in their outcomes?
Answer: The fit individual's health markers will decline but will likely remain in the "well" range, while the well individual is more likely to be pushed into "sickness."
This scenario illustrates the concept of the fitness buffer. The fit person starts with superior health metrics. The stress of the illness will degrade these metrics, but because they started from a higher point (fitness), they are more likely to land in the wellness/normal range. The merely well person, starting from a lower baseline, is more easily pushed over the threshold into sickness.
How does the CrossFit Sickness-Wellness-Fitness model's perspective on health primarily differ from a conventional medical perspective?
Answer: It views health as a continuum to be actively pursued beyond the mere absence of disease, whereas conventional medicine often focuses on treating sickness.
Conventional medicine is often reactive, focusing on diagnosing and treating disease to move a person from 'sickness' to 'wellness.' CrossFit's model is proactive, defining health on a spectrum and advocating for the pursuit of fitness as the optimal expression of health, creating a protective buffer that goes far beyond simply not being sick.